Every Sky Needs A Little Cloud Control

Okay guys. I have to tell you something. I’ve only been in Sydney for two weeks…and I’m in love. I would usually tell you that love at first sight is for idiots, that it’s unreal and all about false pretenses and superficiality, but I can’t help it. I think this may just say it all…

Silly, of course I meant a band!! [This is HipsterSpinster after all!]

So the band is called Cloud Control and they were the second band I got to test out at my first (real) Aussie music event. (You can read about the first here if you’re up for a good laugh). The show was at a place called The Gaelic and it was a pretty cool spot. Lots of space for standing (because no one sits at a good show), dimly lit, and apparently a well-stocked bar. I’m not sure, because I never actually went to it, or saw much of it do to the mob of people who were at it. Anyway, the show was a fundraiser for community radio station FBi, which is in need of some financial help. The show was put on by the band’s label Ivy League, this band’s label, which has a roster full of impressive bands, and it seems a lot of these bands got their starts from FBi airplay (including The Vines, how cool is that?). I caught most of the bands, but missed the first and left either during or before the last. The first band I saw was rock-ish and kind of reminded me of Hot Hot Heat. And the band after Cloud Control (Red Riders) was fun, but kind of reminded me of The Killers. When Cloud Control took the stage, it was like I instantly knew I was probably going to enjoy it. They just looked so happy and excited to get started.

Cloud Control is a four-piece consisting of Alister Wright (guitar/vocals), sister-brother team Heidi Lenffer (keyboards/tambourine/vocals) and Ulrich Lenffer (drums), and Jeremy Kelshaw (bass/vocals). They are from Blue Mountains, New South Wales which is just west of Sydney and apparently met while in school.

Their debut release on Ivy League is a 6-song, self-titled EP, that I highly recommend. It’s full of bright melodies and catchy choruses, and some solemn mood shifters that really absorb the listener. Also available is the three-song 7″ Death Cloud. They’ve got very strong vocalists, a unique, fun, and appealing musical style, and a kickin’ live show. Bopping along to their tunes is simply irresistible.